Why two out of five Australians intend to change jobs in the next 12 months

Hays research has revealed that 40% of Australians plan to look for a new job in the next 12 months.

According to data from the recruiter’s 2019/20 Hays Salary Guide, another 28% of the 1,600 professionals surveyed said they may look but were ‘unsure’ at the time of enquiry.

The reasons? A lack of promotional opportunities tops the list, cited by 53%, followed by a lack of new challenges (42%) an uncompetitive salary (41%), poor training and development (27%) and poor work-life balance (also 27%).

Moreover, Hays found that only 44% are ‘very satisfied’ or ‘extremely satisfied’ in their current job. Just 47% and 54% are ‘very satisfied’ or ‘extremely satisfied’ with their current employer and direct manager respectively.

“A new financial year is fast approaching, which traditionally brings fresh activity to the jobs market as new budgets are set and employers look to add to their headcount,” says Nick Deligiannis, Managing Director of Hays in Australia & New Zealand.

“Financial year end, like New Year, is also a seasonal peak time of the year for people to review whether they should stay or change jobs.”

“For employers, this movement of people will add to their staff retention challenges, which are already heightened in response to subdued wage growth.”

“One-third (33%) of employers have already told us they’ve seen their staff turnover rate rise in the last 12 months. With many people clearly not content in their current position, this figure will likely rise further as people look for a new job to improve their career prospects.”

The FY 2019/20 Hays Salary Guide is based on a survey of more than 3,400 organisations in Australia, representing over 4.7 million employees, in addition to a survey of 1,600 skilled professionals.

Get your copy of the Hays Salary Guide by visiting www.hays.com.au/salary-guide.